As they stood together in front of the house, neither knew what to say. Genba watched them from the stable door, and the old carpenter shuffled past, carrying some boards and making them a creaking bow. Akitada almost suggested getting another dog, but bit it off in time.
Tora said, ‘Trouble was a lot like me. Couldn’t do anything right, but he was loyal.’
More guilt.
Akitada muttered, ‘Don’t blame yourself. It was my fault. All of it was my fault.’ He paused. ‘What happened with that maid?’
‘That’s another thing I couldn’t do right. The bastard murdered Little Abbess before I could talk to her. Beat her head in just like the doctor’s.’
‘Who is Little Abbess?’
‘Peony’s maid. She sells old clothes now. Sold, I mean.’ He sighed.
Akitada frowned. ‘So you got no information?’
‘I talked to her a little the day before. She told me some things, but she was very close-mouthed about others. That’s why I went back before reporting to you in Otsu. Only by then that bastard Ishikawa or the monk had got to her. She might still be alive if I hadn’t gone chasing after Ishikawa.’
‘What monk? You had better tell me the whole story from the beginning.’ Akitada sat down on the steps.
Tora told him.
Akitada asked, ‘What did the maid say about the child’s father?’
‘She wouldn’t say if it was Sadanori or young Masuda. A customer came in, and I left to look for Ishikawa.’
Akitada had Tora repeat the conversation between Sadanori and Ishikawa twice. It puzzled him also. ‘Sadanori’s anger must be due to Ishikawa’s blackmail,’ he said, ‘but it isn’t clear if Sadanori ordered the murders or Ishikawa acted on his own and afterwards held the crimes over Sadanori’s head. What is the monk’s part in all this?’
‘I wish I knew. Every time I turned around I saw one of those begging monks. Maybe it was just one guy. Anybody could hide under one of those basket hats.’
Akitada frowned, remembering the monk in the warden’s office in Otsu. He had identified the boy as belonging to the Mimuras. And had there not been an itinerant monk outside the doctor’s house on the day of the murder? ‘Where did you see all these monks?’
‘The first one was outside Sadanori’s residence. I told him it was a stupid place to beg. He wanted to know if I worked there. Then, at the shrine market, he was talking to the fan seller right after Ishikawa. I caught up with the bastard in the capital-’
‘Wait. How do you know it was the same man every time?’
‘I don’t. But they were all about the same size and height. Anyway, his basket hat came off then and he was a stranger. I let him get away. But then, there he was again the next day, right outside Little Abbess’s place. Right after her murder.’
‘What? Did you speak to him?’
‘No. He ducked into the crowd when he saw me.’
Akitada shook his head. ‘Strange. A monk was also seen outside the doctor’s place. Hmm. I’m not sure about this monk, but I have a feeling he’s part of Peony’s story. In any case, the facts now point to Ishikawa and Sadanori. You were right all along. I have other news. The doctor’s notes show that he may have been killed because he knew someone poisoned young Masuda.’ He smiled. ‘You’ve done excellent work.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Tora cheered up a little. ‘What’s next?’
‘Get some rest. It’s time I paid Lord Sadanori a visit.’
TWENTY-ONE
Akitada went to tell his wife about Tora’s news. She listened, interrupted a few times to ask a question, but did not offer any comments until he was done. ‘Oh, that poor, poor young woman,’ she murmured. ‘Rejected by everyone. And the boy. You must bring him to us, Akitada, whatever happens. We cannot let him down again.’ Bypassing Tora’s exciting tale of monks and murder, she had gone straight to what mattered most to her: the lost child.
He nodded reluctantly. ‘Yes, I suppose so.’
Her eyes widened at his tone. ‘I thought you were quite determined. Have you changed your mind?’
How could he admit his selfishness to her? ‘My efforts have been grossly misinterpreted,’ he said evasively.
‘But that is nonsense. You cared for the child because your heart is kind.’
‘No, Tamako,’ he said bitterly. ‘I was not kind. I was lonely and behaved like a spoiled child who wanted an expensive toy. I was going to buy him. Now all our funds are gone, and so is my career. And the child doesn’t even like me.’
He knew he had sounded petulant and started to leave, but Tamako caught his sleeve. ‘No. You’re wrong. You missed Yori and wanted someone to love again. I, too-’ She took his hand and begged, ‘Can we not try together to accept what happened?’
Akitada had no words, but he squeezed her hand and nodded.
She said, ‘It helps to reach out when we stumble.’
Emotion choked Akitada. He made an effort and managed to say quite steadily, ‘Yes, well, I’ve certainly fallen down many times on this case. But remember, if the child is really the son of Peony and Masuda, he has a family. Though it may be impossible to prove it, now the maid is dead and Mrs Ishikawa has been spirited away by her son.’
‘Mrs Ishikawa is the key. Tora said her son expects to marry Sadanori’s daughter.’
A misalliance, if ever there was one. ‘It’s hardly likely that Sadanori would agree.’
‘He might if he were forced to,’ insisted Tamako.
‘Sadanori is very secure in his position at court. Besides, I don’t see a man like Sadanori taking such risks. Seduction and abduction, even rape of women from the amusement quarter, are more in his line. Nobody pays attention to a man’s sexual peccadilloes.’ But that was not entirely true. He, Akitada, was under sharp scrutiny at this moment for sexual misconduct. However, he was hardly of Sadanori’s rank and connections.
‘What do you think?’ asked Tamako.
‘I don’t know what to think. Ishikawa is repulsive, but I’ve never thought him capable of murder. When he cornered me six years ago at the university, he could have killed me, but he intended only a beating.’ Akitada would always feel a remnant of sympathy for the handsome and brilliant student whose ambition and poverty had led him into crime.
‘We must find Mrs Ishikawa.’
‘Yes. You’re quite right. I’m on my way to speak to Sadanori. After that we’ll know better how to proceed.’ Akitada rose with new energy. ‘Thank you. You’ve been most helpful.’
Tamako gave him a trembling smile.
Akitada changed into his second-best silk robe and clean silk trousers before calling on the great lord. At the Sadanori compound, Akitada checked the gate for begging monks, but saw none.
Fujiwara Sadanori received him formally in the main house. The reception hall was lit by several candles on tall stands. Sadanori sat on a cushion on a thick grass mat, one elbow on a lacquered armrest and a go board by his side as if he had been interrupted in a game against himself. He returned Akitada’s bow, calculated carefully to be just less than polite, and gestured to another cushion.
‘Have I had the pleasure?’ he asked with the vagueness of a great man who cannot be expected to remember those who seek his favor every day, but his eyes were watchful.
‘No, sir.’ Akitada made no attempt to add the customary flattery, and the watchful eyes sharpened.
Sadanori was in his early forties and slightly corpulent. He had a round, smooth-shaven face with thin lips that turned downwards when he was not smiling. He was not smiling now. ‘In that case, perhaps you will be brief. I am very busy.’
‘Yes, I see. Briefly then: one of the women in my household claims that you had her abducted and confined in a house in the Gojibomon quarter. She managed to escape the day after the abduction. I found the story difficult to believe and came to verify the matter.’